MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. - Sophomore third baseman Kaitlyn Richardson (Phoenix, Ariz./Sandra Day O'Connor HS) has been voted to the Capital One Academic All-District 6 First Team, as announced today by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).

Richardson is one of two Big Ten representatives on the 11-member first team for District 6, which includes the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

She carries a 3.91 grade point average as a marketing major in the Carlson School of Management, and she had a perfect 4.00 GPA during the 2012 fall semester.

On the field, Richardson leads the Big Ten and ranks among the top 10 nationally with a .472 (59-for-125) batting average and a .588 on base percentage in 46 games this season. She leads the Gophers in batting average, on base percentage, slugging percentage (.776), runs batted in (37), and walks (31), while ranking second with 32 runs scored, 11 doubles, and nine home runs.

Richardson has played a key role in Minnesota's success on the field this season, as the Gophers enter their final weekend of the regular season with a record of 30-16 overall and 11-6 in the Big Ten. Minnesota is just outside the Top 25 in both national polls, and the Gophers are 29th in the most recent RPI report released by the NCAA.

First Team Academic All-District honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America recipients will be selected later this month.

Minnesota plays host to Indiana for a three-game Big Ten series this weekend at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium. The series opens with Friday's game at 6:00 p.m. CT.